Hands on Review – Huepar T7-LM90 / LM200 Laser Distance Measure

May 23, 2021

Huepar

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Review of the Huepar T7-LM90C and LM200C Laser Distance Measures

The following is a hands-on review of the Huepar T7-LM90C / LM200C Laser Distance Measure.

The model I had available to review was the LM90-C with the up to 90m range. All the features of the 90C are the same as the LM200C which has an additional range up to 200m.

Huepar is a relatively new brand name on the Laser Level, Laser Distance Measure market and is distributed globally. A Chinese brand sourcing products from a number of different OEM manufacturers in China. Huepar, tends to supply to the entry-level, lower-cost end of the market, to owner builder and general construction end-users.

Huepar T7-LM90C / LM200C

The T7-LM90C is compact and is a feature-packed laser distance meter designed for both indoor and outdoor usage. Indoor measurement is made by aiming the laser dot to where you want to measure to. When using ANY laser measure the laser dots are hard to see outside in full sunlight, however, the Huepar features video targetting which makes it ideal for outdoor measuring. I’ll cover this feature later in this review.

What’s in the box

The Huepar laser distance measure comes in a fairly plain brown box with black printing on it. Upon opening the box you find the laser measure itself in a plastic bag and in a compartment underneath all the included accessories. Included with the measure is a soft case with a belt clip, wrist strap, a USB cable, a laser target, and an instruction book. Note that the device does not come with any batteries.

The LM90C and LM200C are powered by 3x “AAA” batteries, I’ve been using the one I have with standard alkaline batteries. you can, however, use rechargeable “AAA” Ni-MH batteries and charge them inside the unit using the USB cable and any USB charger/adaptor, this I did not try. Be aware to never try and charge standard alkaline or heavy-duty batteries with this cable. There is a warning message on the back of the device for this. Doing so could cause the batteries to overheat and damage the laser measure or worse.

I give an 8.5/10 for what’s in the box.The lost points are for not including batteries.

First Impressions

First impressions are very good. Apart from not having batteries, the kit includes everything you would expect and more. The build quality of the laser measure is extremely good and I would rank it as being better than the Leica Disto X4 which offers similar features at a higher price. See my review on the Leica Disto X4 HERE. The Huepar fits in the hand nicely, in my view not too small and not too big. It features a generously sized Colour LCD display which is very clear and bright. The Disto X4 feels smaller, almost fiddly in comparison. The Disto’s display is also a little too small for my liking.

The Huepar is well designed with a thick rubber casing and the corners seem well protected from drops. The battery compartment seems pretty well weather sealed and I would expect the device to handle getting wet but not submerged.

Build quality, I give a 9.5/10. The lost half a point as the screen could be better protected by insetting into the rubber.

Ease of Use

The Huepar LM90 LM200 range is easy to use with a pretty simple menu system and not too many buttons and is very intuitive. To turn the power on, long-press the power button and it’s ready to do a simple measurement. To take a measurement, press the “MEAS” measurement green button and the laser dot is emitted from the front of the unit. Next, you aim the dot to where you want to measure to and press the “MEAS” once again and the distance is shown in Green at the bottom of the display. To access the various functions select the button with the 4 white squares. Then using the up and down buttons select the function you want. The icons make it pretty self-explanatory what each function does. To access the settings menu press the “SET” button. Within a few minutes of use, you’re ready to go.

I give it a 10/10 for ease of use.

Features

I’m going to divide this section into basic features and advanced features.

Basic Features

The Huepar LM90C includes all the standard type features you would expect such as;

Standard Measuring & Continuous Measurement
Surface Area & Volume Calculations (walls, rooms)
Indirect Measurements using Pythagoras
Min/Max
Staking Out function
Units of Measure options
Measuring from selector (front, back of the unit, or from the tripod mount)
Memory Recall (1000 sets is what is stated but I managed 59 full data sets with information on indirect measurements etc see video bottom of page)

Advanced Features

The Huepar also features more advanced features you would normally only find on more expensive units such as;

Digital Angle meter or Inclinometer used for advanced indirect measurements
A digital easy to sea bubble vial for level
Digital Bulls Eye Vial Function
Video targetting with zoom
Timer measurement function
Rotating display
Bluetooth connectivity (with downloadable app)
Triangle surface area
Circle surface area and Cylinder volume calculation (something I have not seen very often)
Use USB to download CSV file of recorded measurements PC/MAC (REMEMBER to remove batteries first if not re-chargeable)
USB charging of Ni-MH rechargeable “AAA” batteries (Not supplied)

Features

So as you can see the Huepar has some amazing advanced features. The only advanced feature I could not find was indirect height using distance to base and angle to top without needing to target the height. For example, measuring the height of power lines when you cant target the laser onto the cable itself. It is possible it’s in there as everything else is, but, I could not find it.

Just a quick note about the included instructions. It is written in multiple languages but it does not cover every feature, also the features covered are not covered in great detail. Saying that it’s still sufficient to get you started.

Features, I give it a 10/10 for its price point, even double the price point the features are excellent.

Focus on Outdoor Use with Video targetting

As I hope most of you reading this are already aware, to reliably use a laser distance measure outdoors in full sunlight you need video targetting. If you are not aware check out the post HERE. So one of the main reasons for purchasing one of these models is its video targetting feature. The Huepar LM90C has a full-colour video camera with zoom. This is activated by pressing the green camera button when powered up and ready to measure. The camera can be used when using any of the functions which makes targeting difficult to reach spots, such as, the corner of a roof or tree at distance much easier.

I used the camera targetting function outside handheld and found it pretty easy to use when aiming at larger areas. For targeting smaller areas at distance you would need to use a camera tripod, ideally with pan and tilt motion. The Huepar features a camera tripod mount and measurements can be set to be from that point if required. As you can see from the example below the image is pretty clear and when aiming at good reflective surfaces was getting good range (using the LM90C 90m unit). Outdoor use I give a 9.5/10, the lost half point is for not having a third even bigger zoom, but I’m being picky here.

Note: 63.8m was the greatest distance I managed to successfully measure as the white car reflects the laser back to the LM90C very well. At that sort of distance, it would not give a reading from the brick wall behind. This underlines that the distance you can get a successful reading for any laser distance measure is largely due to the reflective nature of the surface you are aiming at. This is where having a target comes in handy.

Focus on Bluetooth and Data Transfer

USB

The Huepar T7-LM90C and T7-LM200C have a USB socket and cable provided. The USB cable as previously mentioned can be used to charge “AAA” Ni-MH rechargeable batteries (not included) but it can also be used to transfer recorded measurements to a PC or MAC computer as a CSV file. The Huepar has a generous measurement memory and this can be dumped into a spreadsheet for you to manipulate.

Note you cannot do live transfer of measurements using the USB cable. Also note if you are connecting the USB cable, the rubber socket cover on the bottom of the device is tricky to move out of the way to allow to plug the cable in. It would be easy to break this cover off which would affect weatherproofing, so be careful. Also, as the warning message on the back of the device indicates. If you are using standard non-rechargeable batteries REMOVE THEM FIRST before plugging the USB cable into your computer.

For the USB features I give an 8.5/10, lost points for; no live transfer, and fiddly USB socket cover again pretty picky.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth seems to only work with the app linked to in the instructions manual. I tried both Bluetooth to PC/MAC and to a mobile ios device for other apps and it did not work for me. The companion app is called “Joyplan” and is very Chinese but it does seem pretty complex if you want it to be. Connecting the Huepar via Bluetooth to the app was pretty easy. Simply select the Bluetooth icon in the settings menu whist you have the app open and you are connected. I tried to draw some room walls and then took measurements which the app picked up instantly. I could then allocate the measurement to a particular wall.

The App

The setting menu is accessed by pressing the “SET” button when powered on, you navigate around it with the up and down buttons. To activate the selected item press the green “MEAS” measure button. The Joyplan app is not the most intuitive, but, it does have plenty of prompts on screen on how to use it. It appears quite powerful if you take the time to learn how to use it. To compare with the Leica Disto software which you can use with the Disto X4, this is not as complete. There is also a wide range of specialist third-party apps that are specifically designed for the Leica models. I do not know if any of these third-party apps would work with the Huepar.

The Bluetooth is a 7.5/10. I would have really liked to have had live transfer of measurements to PC or Tablet running a spreadsheet. Someone correct me if they get this to work.

The app I would give a 6/10, this is compared against the Leica Disto apps available. (note some Disto apps are an additional charge though)

Conclusions Huepar LM90C

When I ordered this Huepar LM90C laser distance measure I really did not expect the build quality to be as good as it is. It is superb, in fact, I would say that it is better than the Leica Disto X4 which has similar features but at a much higher price. The tactile feel in the hand is very satisfying with the rubber housing and curved back making it comfortable to hold.

The navigation menu and usage are very good and I found it to be intuitive and simple.

Features are exceptional, well above what you would expect at this price point, and puts the more established brands to shame.

All in all, I would happily recommend either the T7-LM90C or T7-LM200C by Huepar to any builder or home handyman looking for a serious laser distance measure for use both inside and out use.

You can also check out the video review.